


'cause love will drive us

by oswinosgoodsscarf



Series: the future's priceless, babe [2]
Category: Black Friday - Team StarKid
Genre: Canon Autistic Character, Family Fluff, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Meltdown, Nonbinary Ethan Green, Sensory Overload
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:27:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23248486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oswinosgoodsscarf/pseuds/oswinosgoodsscarf
Summary: Hannah deals with sensory overload, and Ethan gives her a new comfort object. Or: the reason Hannah wears a yellow flannel in the show.
Relationships: Hannah Foster & Ethan Green, Lex Foster/Ethan Green, ory overload
Series: the future's priceless, babe [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1676590
Comments: 14
Kudos: 129





	'cause love will drive us

**Author's Note:**

> Ethan gives Hannah their flannel when she has a meltdown. inspired by this tumblr post: https://someonesuncomfortablylongurl.tumblr.com/post/612281411886514176/headcanon

Hannah cried, roughly scratching and tugging at her sweater as she rocked back and forth on the cold concrete. Every hitched breath and pained groan tugged at Ethan's heart, but all they could do was stand there, trying to figure out what they could do to help her.

It had been a rough few weeks for all of them, Hannah especially, with far more bad days than good ones. As a result, this was the third meltdown of the week. They and Lex had done their best to try and avoid busy places and too-bright stores, but the icy weather had given Ethan no other choice but to put Hannah into the scratchy sweater they knew she hated. As much as Hannah loathed it, none of them could currently afford her getting sick - between having to miss work to care for her and finding a quiet place for her to rest, it would just cause the three of them far more trouble than it was worth. 

Which left Ethan to now take care of an overwhelmed Hannah all by himself for the first time. Usually, they’d be able to avoid most situations that set her off, or Lex would be able to step in, but their luck had seemed to run out today.

They watched on futilely and debated calling Lex for help before dismissing the idea. They knew she would just drop everything and leave in the middle of her shift, and they couldn’t let her do that. She was on thin enough ice with Frank already; she needed the job and couldn’t afford to miss more shifts. Ethan had said that they could handle taking care of her sister and they would fucking come through for Lex.

Ethan started pacing on the sidewalk, running their hands through their hair as they tried to remember what Lex always did, what she had coached them through in case this ever happened when she wasn’t there. 

“Ok, ok… so Lex told me: ‘If she’s becoming overwhelmed, figure out what is causing the overload and either get her away from it or it away from her. Stuff that affects her are bright lights, strong smells and some types of textures in food and objects she touches.’ But this isn’t like the getting out of the bright room or food court or smokey entrance-way. I can’t just let her freeze!”

Aside from leaving her to brave the October chill with only a thin t-shirt for protection, there wasn’t much else that they could think of that would bring her relief. But they also couldn’t really force the kid to muscle through the whole situation. Ethan hovered, fiddling with the hem of their flannel before their eyes widened in realization and they smacked themselves on the forehead.

“Oh! Jesus, I’m stupid.”

They slowly approached her, crouching down into her sight and absentmindedly plucked at the offending garment, waiting a moment to give her time to adjust to them being in her space. Careful of their volume, Ethan started talking slowly and clearly.

"Hey, Banana-Split. I know me and Lex told you that you need to keep warm so you don’t get sick, but I get the feeling you’re not doing great with this sweater, are you?“

She glared at them, still groaning and rocking, head now in her hands. They bet that, if she were currently verbal, they’d now probably be subjected to the kind of curse-words that would make Lex apoplectic.

“Yeah, thought so. Alright, how about I give you my flannel, huh? I promise that it’s only a little busted. I’ve got other ones that I like better anyway, and you need this more than I do.” 

Hannah stared at their shoulder, struggling to process Ethan’s words. Her eyebrows furrowed as she pulled at the sweater again.

“Yeah, come on, take the fucking thing off and we’ll bring it back to the second-hand store. The sooner you feel better, the sooner we can go to Toy Zone distract your sister at work.”

Hannah ripped off the sweater, gladly dropping it onto the ground as she wiped her fingers clean from the sensation on her jeans. Ethan took off their leather jacket and flannel, shivering slightly as they handed the worn yellow garment over to Hannah before shrugging their jacket back on. She moved slowly in spite of the cold biting at her skin, taking the time to touch it; cautiously testing the texture of the clothing before rubbing her face on it enthusiastically, humming quietly. It hung loosely on her, engulfing her in soft fabric that faintly smelled like familiar smoke and engine grease, a balm for her battered nerves. Her breathing gradually slowed down, and eventually she was able to stop rocking, muscles slowly relaxing from their previously tense state. Ethan watched, hope slowly growing as they stooped down to pick the sweater up. Hannah straightened up, finally able to look at them. As she nodded at them, Ethan beamed at her, slinging an arm around her shoulders.

“A yellow flannel for the Banana! It must be been fate!”

Hannah giggled tiredly, mumbling, “SuperBanana Hannah.”

Ethan laughed, tugging her in the direction of the mall. It would be a bit of a walk since their car was currently busted, but they could catch the bus to somewhere warm, and it would get Hannah out of the trailer and out of her moms’ way.

“Alright, let’s get out of here, SuperBanana. The sooner we get to the mall, the sooner you can tell Lex all about your new fashion statement and I can brag about being the superior babysitter. Then, I promise, we’ll make sure to get this piece of shit-” He waves the sweater- “out of your way.”

After that day, Hannah took to wearing the flannel practically every day, and whenever she was having a bad day, she would pull it tightly around herself until only her head was uncovered, rubbing the soft cuffs against her cheeks to help herself calm down. And even if he’d never admit it, the sight of it always made Ethan’s heart swell.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope my depiction of Hannah is accurate; please feel free to let me know how I did! Kudos and comments are very much appreciated if you liked this :D


End file.
